Transport Topics

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a partnership with agencies in California to address freight connectivity concerns related to the national supply chain. The Emerging Projects Agreement is meant to assist with the transport of freight at key West Coast hubs where stakeholders have identified supply chain disruptions.Under the partnership, announced Oct. 28, USDOT’s Build America Bureau will be tasked with aiding the California State Transportation Agency via access to federal funding options. California projects under consideration for the partnership include commercial ports, freight rail corridors, large warehouses, truck electrification programs, highway congestion mitigation plans and land ports of entry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives are signaling we could see a vote on large portions of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda this week, including much-anticipated infrastructure measures. Progressives and moderates within the Democratic party say they are arriving at an understanding on those measures, as well as a number of social policy tenets of Biden’s agenda. For transportation stakeholders there is a sense of urgency, as the infrastructure bill includes a five-year federal highway policy update. To avoid funding disruptions, the authority of the country’s premier highway law was extended through Dec. 3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Traffic fatalities in the first half of 2021 were up an estimated 18.4% over the same time period in 2020, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA estimates 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes on U.S. roadways from January through June, which would be the most fatalities in that time period since 2006. NHTSA says driving patterns and behaviors have changed significantly since the coronavirus pandemic began. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, quote, “We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In an attempt to clear a backlog of containerships, the Biden Administration has launched a new initiative. The Emerging Projects Agreement marks the first time the federal government has teamed with a state to develop and fund a range of supply chain projects at once, rather than taking a piecemeal approach to specific initiatives, according to Port Envoy John Porcari. The accord will make available two federal loan programs to projects including upgrading highways and ports, developing inland warehouse facilities and expanding freight-rail capacity. The Biden administration and California officials are under pressure to relieve a logjam in the nation’s supply arteries, but especially at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where more than 70 container vessels are anchored off the coast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For much of Harold Sumerford Jr.’s adult life, he has risen at 4:30 each morning and worked 11 hours a day, six days a week. But it’s never felt like the daily grind. “I’ve been doing this for 43 years,” said Sumerford, CEO of Birmingham, Ala.-based J&M Tank Lines and newly confirmed chairman of American Trucking Associations. “But I’ve never, ever felt like I went to work a day in my life.” Sumerford was sworn in as chairman Oct. 26 at ATA’s Management Conference & Exhibition in Nashville, Tenn. As the new public face of trucking, Sumerford likely will be spending equally long hours traveling the country to keep politicians and ATA members informed on the critical issues on his agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new Department of Transportation Inspector General audit concludes that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s information technology infrastructure is fraught with security weaknesses that are at risk for compromise by hackers and the placement of malware. The audit, made public Oct. 20, said the IG itself used “basic hacker technique” to gain unauthorized access to FMCSA’s network. Auditors also said they had gained access to 13.6 million unencrypted personally identifiable information records, and that had the information been obtained by hackers it could have cost FMCSA up to $570 million in credit monitoring fees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will the Highway Trust Fund reauthorization deadline of Oct. 31 provide an impetus for an agreement on the larger social infrastructure proposal before Congress? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agrees there is urgency for approving a surface transportation policy update, and that the best way to deal with it is to pass the bipartisan infrastructure framework. Congressional Democratic leaders appear ready to present a Build Back Better social infrastructure budget plan of about $1.75 trillion. Read more in this week’s web feature, Capitol Agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

American Trucking Associations has sent a letter to government officials expressing “grave concern” over potential damage that it says President Biden’s plans for a COVID-19 vaccine mandate could cause trucking companies. The federation warns that motor carriers could lose up to 37% of their drivers if a vaccine mandate is ordered for companies with 100 employees or more. The emergency temporary standard has not yet been made public, but was reportedly sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review on Oct. 12. ATA added that if the administration does not address its concerns it would be forced to take action against the proposal to protect its industry and its drivers’ livelihoods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a letter signed by 160 Republicans from the U.S. House of Representatives, some lawmakers are pointing at President Biden and his senior team as one of the culprits for the slowdowns at commercial seaports, and the steady spike in the cost of consumer products. In the letter, House Republicans, such as Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, stated that unless the administration reverses course and takes immediate action, not only will the upcoming holiday season be imperiled, but will also result in long-term economic damage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meera Joshi, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee by a vote of 22 to 6. The Senate Commerce Committee oversees trucking and freight policy. If confirmed on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Joshi would go from deputy administrator to confirmed administrator. In a separate area of transportation nominations, it was announced by the White House that Steven Cliff has been nominated to lead the National Highway Safety Administration. Cliff is currently the deputy administrator of the agency and recently served at the California Air Resources Board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Truck tonnage hit a 2021 high in September, increasing both on a sequential basis and year-over-year. The American Trucking Associations For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index reached 112.9, marking a 1.7% increase over year-ago levels, and up 2.4% compared with August. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said, “It is good that tonnage rose in September, but it is important to note that this is happening because each truck is hauling more, not from an increase in the amount of equipment operated.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The price of diesel continues to climb by leaps and bounds, with another 8.5-cent increase this week pushing the national average for a gallon of trucking’s main fuel to $3.671. That’s an increase of 26.5 cents a gallon just over the past three weeks. Diesel is $1.28 more than it was a year ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

J.B. Hunt Transport Services experienced both revenue and net income growth during the third quarter of 2021, the company reported Friday. The carrier posted net earnings of $199.8 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, and total operating revenue of $3.14 billion. All segments contributed double-digit revenue growth versus the prior year period. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Democrats craft a multitrillion-dollar budget package, Republican transportation leaders have ramped up their criticism of congressional leaders and the Biden administration. Senior Democrats in the Senate are insisting climate change-centric proposals be included in the final budget reconciliation bill. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Coons of Delaware are among the lawmakers pushing for adoption of a civilian climate corps, proposals designed to phase out fossil-fuel tax breaks and enhancing freight corridors’ resilience to severe weather events. But Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ranking member, said, “The policies of the president and his party’s leaders in Congress are exacerbating or ignoring the underlying supply chain issues.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fixing the broken supply chain will take time and patience, substantial amounts of money, imagination by key leaders in the transportation and logistics industry, and significant policy changes. Those are the conclusions of experts closely watching the upcoming holiday shopping season, but, as they said, the rush to buy items amplifies how stretched the system is. “What we have is a storm within a storm,” University of Houston Logistics Professor Margaret Kidd told Transport Topics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Members of the House of Representatives last night pushed through a short-term increase to the nation’s debt limit, ensuring the federal government can continue fully paying its bills into December and temporarily averting an unprecedented default that would have decimated the economy. The $480 billion increase in the country’s borrowing ceiling cleared the Senate last week on a party-line vote. The House approved it 219-206, so President Joe Biden can sign it into law this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

XPO Logistics has named its chief information officer, Mario Harik, to run its less-than-truckload division in an acting capacity. Harik is replacing Tony Brooks, 59, who is retiring. The change takes effect immediately, although Brooks will stay on for an undetermined period of time to assist Harik with the transition. Harik will continue in his role as XPO’s CIO, a position he has held since XPO was founded 10 years ago by CEO Brad Jacobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mergers and acquisitions in the trucking industry are heating up as buyers and sellers look to make moves while a confluence of factors drive activity. Included in those factors are high valuations for motor carriers, deals that have gotten backlogged during the pandemic and concerns over potential changes to capital gains taxes. According to Lee A. Clair, a managing partner at Transportation and Logistics Advisors, significant activity is occurring for less-than-truckload brokers, truckload brokers, truck lines, airfreight forwarders, ocean forwarders and managed transportation providers. He also notes the activity is lifting deal brokers out of a period of idleness that dates to the fourth quarter of 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One year from now, some of the world’s brightest and most highly trained young adults will gather in Shanghai for the 46th WorldSkills Competition. The event, rescheduled because of the pandemic, is set for Oct. 12-17, 2022. And again, the U.S. is sending a representative to compete in the heavy equipment category. Gabe Krebs, 20, of Lonsdale, Minn., is a 2019 graduate of the Heavy Duty Truck Technology program at Dakota County Technical College in Minnesota. He is a transmission specialist at Interstate Power Systems in Bloomington, Minn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

North American Class 8 orders in September dropped 11.8% compared with a year earlier, ACT Research reported. Truck makers struggled to match pent-up demand amid a badly out-of-kilter supply chain and a production schedule that continues to defy typical certainty. Orders slid down to 27,400 compared with 31,100 a year earlier, according to ACT, citing truck makers’ preliminary data. FTR pegged preliminary net orders at 28,100. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices